This is a limited free preview of this book. Please buy full access.
The two experimental conditions differed slightly in the content of the previews—one focused on descriptive information (semantic) and the other on user information (pragmatic). Site content focused on a new cell phone, so the semantic previews contained information about the phone and the pragmatic previews instructed readers how to use the features of the phone. Findings of the study revealed that the previews helped users to navigate more efficiently but did not significantly impact user effectiveness during a search task or user evaluation of website usability.
Although Maes, et al. (2006) used previews in their study, there are key differences between their methods and those reported here. The previews in the research reported here were pop-up windows that covered part of the webpage text, whereas Maes, et al. used a preview pane in a stationary location. Also, the study reported here focused on relational and definitional information as preview content, whereas Maes, et al. examined semantic and pragmatic information. These differences are important to consider because they reveal that more research is needed to understand the use of previews in the learning process both in terms of web structure and content.
Other recent studies have focused on related issues of hypermedia learning that have been discussed previously in the literature such as navigational organization and linear versus nonlinear representations.
For instance, Trumpower and Goldsmith (2004) examined three navigational organization patterns: expert (nonlinear design, but influenced by the knowledge structure of an expert), random (nonlinear design, but without expert guidance), and alphabetical (linear design). They found that those who used the expert navigational structure acquired superior knowledge structures (examined using definitional and conceptual knowledge assessments) of their own and went on to perform better in a related task.
On the other hand, Lee, Tedder, and Xie (2006) examined linear and nonlinear presentations of three types of text: blocked (independent elements of the whole), ordered (required reading from beginning to end for comprehension) and detailed layered (each fact followed by sufficient detail with main and subpoints).